Culture
Tagata Honen Matsuri 2025
Amber MezbourianThe Tagata Honensai Matsuri is a fertility festival, with the main event centering on the lively procession of a large wooden phallus from one shrine to another.
Tagata Shrine, located in Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture, is famous for its fertility festival every March 15.
Each year, a newly carved wooden phallus 2-meters long is carried by men said to be an unlucky age. This festival is said to show the bond between heaven (the penis) and earth (the ground the men tread upon) and bring a bountiful harvest—not to mention fertility to festival-goers. This festival has become more and more popular with foreigners in recent years for its unusual shock factor.
Tagata Shrine itself is a relatively small shrine in Komaki, which is also a quaint town north of Nagoya. Built over 1500 years ago, shrine visitors won’t be disappointed if they visit outside of festival times. There are heaps of manmade and natural rock formations all in the shape—or suggestive—of phalluses. In the past, some of the shrines’ collection would be lent out to couples wishing for children and then returned to the shrine once the lucky couple had their wish granted.
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The annual harvest festival of Tagata Shrine is the Honen Matsuri. It's celebrated yearly on March 15th.
Rub this lucky rock on the temple grounds for improved libido and fertility.
A short walk from Tagata Jinja-mae Station.
The Tagata Honensai Matsuri is a fertility festival, with the main event centering on the lively procession of a large wooden phallus from one shrine to another.
Samantha from Sex and The City would be impressed, as Komaki rises to the occasion for the Fertility Festival with one huge....
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